India is keen to strengthen such ties with Africa. It has identified the healthcare sector as one area where trade between the continents can flourish.
So young African doctors are encouraged to finish their training in India, meanwhile Indian healthcare firms are expanding all over Africa.
The African market is a natural fit for Indian pharmaceutical companies, as India is the largest provider of generic medicine in the world.
Generic drugs made in India can sell at a quarter of the price of a branded equivalent, which makes them a popular choice in less well-off parts of the world.
Africure Pharmaceuticals has gone one step further than Goodstrain, by manufacturing pharmaceuticals in Africa.
The company, only founded in 2017, already has nine manufacturing facilities in Africa, employing 300 people across Cameroon, Namibia, Botswana, and Côte d’Ivoire, with plans to build plants in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.
Africure’s factories make medications to treat pain, fever, inflammation, malaria, diabetes and hypertension, as well as a wide range of antibiotics.
Africa over the years has been dependent on imports of medication from Europe, India, and China, which has resulted in the draining of precious foreign exchange, non-creation of job opportunities, and suffering the vagaries of supply and demand.
Indian healthcare firms have a good reputation in Africa, but that hard won image has recently suffered significant damage.